Kool Korner Sandwiches

In the early 1970s, Ildefonso Ramirez fled Cuba. 

Along with his wife, Lucia, and son, Bill, Ramirez came to the United States both in search of a better life outside communism and to save his son from being drafted into the military.

Although it was difficult to leave the rest of his family behind, he knew he was making the right decision.

The family first spent three years in Spain before moving to Miami and then Atlanta. Ramirez had been a chemist in Cuba, but his arrival in America revealed his passion was preparing traditional food from his home country. He opened a grocery store in Atlanta that was eventually converted into a sandwich shop. When a fire destroyed that location, Ramirez opened a new location near Georgia Tech University. His son Bill recalled the reaction – and the realization that his father had found his true calling.

“There were no seats inside the shop,” Bill Ramirez said. “But people lined up out the door for those sandwiches.” 

Ildefonso had been happily serving Atlanta residents “The Best Hot Pressed Sandwich in the Southeast” for 35 years when his son gave him the idea of moving to Birmingham to be closer to his family and finally retire.

“The owner was selling it. He was going to have to find another locale, another place to put the restaurant,” Bill Ramirez said. “That’s when I said, ‘Come over here and live with me and retire.’ He heard the ‘come live with me,’ but he didn’t hear the ‘retire’ part.”

Tucked away in the far corner of the Publix Shopping Center off Highway 31 in Vestavia Hills, Kool Korner Sandwiches looks unassuming at first glance. But swing open the doors under those neon red letters and one finds a rare Cuban treasure where each dish has a story. It’s that kind of heart-and-soul family business that believes its community deserves the best. That means nothing frozen, nothing from a bag and nothing from a can, Ramirez said.

“My father doesn’t like to waste anything,” Bill Ramirez said. “Everything is fresh and natural here.”

When the Vestavia restaurant opened in 2009, carloads of Georgia Tech students arrived to bite into the Cuban sandwich that symbolized the best food of their college years. Georgia Power flew their corporate jet into town just to pick up their old lunch special. It did not take long for Vestavians to realize they had stolen an Atlanta gem.

“We were immediately picked up,” Bill Ramirez said. “It was a very warm reception.”

The secret behind this phenomenon can be explained in two words: Ildefonso Ramirez. At 90 years old, Ramirez has been in the food business for nearly half his life and prides himself on making it fresh and making it right – right there in the store.

“All our sauces, everything is made right back there,” Ildefonso Ramirez said pointing to the kitchen with a smile.

The signature entrée is the Classic Cuban Sandwich with Cuban-style roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, mayonnaise, mustard and dill pickles. If you tell Ramirez’ wife at the register you want “everything,” they will add lettuce, tomato and jalapeño peppers for an added kick. Ildefonso himself roasts each piece of meat in this multi-layer dream of a sandwich.

“He works over 70 hours a week,” Bill Ramirez said. “He’s the one that cooks the pork. He’s the one that makes the eye of round. He makes the soup. He doesn’t ask for help.”

For those looking for a traditional Cuban meal, after 1 p.m. on Saturdays, the family serves white rice, black beans, yucca, maduros and the customer’s choice of meat. Yucca is a root vegetable and maduros are sweet fried plantains, both Cuban staples. Ramirez said this meal keeps his father busy throughout the day.

“Halfway through the afternoon we’re sold out of rice and he’ll have to make some more,” Bill Ramirez said with a laugh.

The Galician soup is an enticing blend of white beans, smoked ham, chorizo, potatoes and collard greens. Ramirez’s wife’s grandmother is from Galicia, a region of Spain right above Portugal, and she used to make the soup for Ramirez’s son who always called it the “green soup.”

“The recipe is familiar since we’re a small family,” Bill Ramirez said. “My father changed it for the restaurant, put his touch on it and it took off. Now it sells year round.”

Since moving the business to Vestavia Hills four and a half years ago, the family has been able to experiment with new menu items such as guava and cream cheese pastries and authentic Cuban tamales.

“We do the same things from the old store, but we’ve expanded a little bit,” Bill Ramirez said. “Like soup, tamales, pastries, empanadas. We didn’t have those before.”

Framed pictures covering the walls of the restaurant include snapshots of the Georgia Tech students who travel to visit Ildefonso. Whether it’s the Saturday night special or the sandwich that won Atlanta’s best for many years in a row, regulars are swinging in and out of the doors for a taste of Cuba. It takes more than one visit to try everything, and at a place like Kool Korner, you don’t want to pass over any item on the menu.

When asked if he’s going to retire soon, Ildefonso just smiles and shakes his head.

“He has no plans on it,” his son said.

That’s a good thing, because his Vestavia community is not likely to let him.

Recommendations

Classic Cuban Sandwich

Pork roasted Cuban style, ham, Swiss cheese, mayo, mustard and dill pickles on Cuban-style bread.

Hot Galician Soup

Cuban-style Galician stew made with white beans, smoked ham, chorizo, potatoes and collard greens. 

Stuffed Eye Round

Beef eye of round stuffed with Spanish sausage (chorizo) and roasted Cuban-style with Swiss cheese, mayo, mustard and pickles on Cuban-style bread.

Saturday Special

Saturdays after 1 p.m., try the Cuban favorite of rice, black beans, yucca (a root vegetable) and maduros (fried plantains). The Special is served with the customer’s choice of meat.